A Saturday by any other name . . .

As the majority of Saturday was spent under the doona reading Ruth Reichl's 'Comfort Me with Apples', my week has felt somewhat out of sync having not undergone its usual Saturday 'newspapers/errands/Friday night debrief over coffee' course of events.  Luckily, I didn't have work or uni today, giving me a chance to rectify this unfortunate situation.  I dropped off drycleaning, bought cat food, paid the gas bill, then met N and his bro - S - at the Rathdowne Street Food Store.

We all ordered coffees and I got a spinach and fetta muffin for lunch (which was bizarrely sweet for a supposedly savoury muffin).  We talked about our exams, the status of the beautiful Russian girl that S had brought to a party some weeks back and the short film that N is about to shoot. 

The Rathdowne Street Food Store is one of our favourite places in the world. It was where my brother (after saving for months) took N and I for our kangaroo and duck for our 21st birthdays. It's the perfect people-perving perch on a Saturday morning, especially over croissants and jam. It's two-thirds of the way home from Cinema Nova - an ideal spot to pause for pudding after a cheap Monday night movie and argue that the book was far superior.  It's the place to take your Dad for a pie when he has driven up the country, or a sad friend for a glass of wine.

I have only ever had three full meals there (and I can recite, course by course, the dishes, wine and conversation topics enjoyed!). However, it is equally magnetic as a late-night dessert or mid-afternoon coffee - it manages to cultivate a serenity that other places on the street lack, despite being one of the more popular destinations.  Perhaps it's the leafiness (is that a word?). Or the combination of being set back from the road but still not being under cover. Or just wilful blindness.

Here comes the 'but'.

We noticed that the 'bread of the day' was corn and polenta, which we deemed highly appropriate 'dipping' material for the lamb shank casserole we had planned to cook that night.  We pooled our change and bought a loaf, then ran home to avoid the impending rain. 

Back at the house, we removed it from the paper bag to show M.  It didn't look corny.  It didn't smell corny. Even toasted and spread with butter, it tasted good, but definitely not corny.  Sigh.  It was definitely definitely wholemeal.

But we'll still be back for coffee on Saturday.

Rathdowne Street Food Store
617 Rathdowne Street
Carlton North  VIC  3054

Comments

[doug]

My, what a lovely lovely blog. You move fast, Laura.